Interesting/thought-provoking conversation recently with a retired professional who had spent 30-35 years as national policy lead for several Government departments incl. Home Office & DWP. Short #Thread 1/n Naturally, our conversation fell to where #libraries stand in the world of policymaking. My first observation was that as soon as you say "library", 2 things happen: 1) people instantly default to *public* libraries and 2) the fog of nostalgia descends. 2/n

Why no #library is an island, a thread.

The phrase "local libraries for local people" keeps coming up in my discussions about a better future for public libraries. It describes a dominant contemporary view that the overriding design principle is "meeting local needs". 1/n 2/n In this view, the nature of each individual library as part of a national or even global network, it's connection to the ethos and practice of librarianship, is subordinate to its ability to respond to local needs. This is the ultimate expression of 30 years of fragmentation.